Ways to Play an End to Budget Crisis

As many options investors wager that Congress will come to its senses, consider a few call options.

Stocks are trading sharply lower Thursday after the Treasury Department cautioned that the nation could suffer a "catastrophic" financial collapse if Congress fails to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

But many investors are apparently betting that this doomsday scenario won't come to pass. Rather, they're wagering that Congress will hammer out deals to both reopen closed federal agencies and raise the nation's borrowing...